The announcement by the White House that a preliminary agreement with Iran has been reached on limiting their nuclear program – stopping enrichment of uranium beyond 3 percent, dismantling enrichment facilities, and increasing the pace and intrusiveness of IAEA inspections – sets the stage for a six-month-long drama, the end of which is impossible to predict. What we can say with certainty, however, is that failure is not an option – because, in that case, war would be almost inevitable.

The collapse of the negotiations would give Iranian hardliners a new lease on life – after their humiliating defeat in the recent presidential elections, which elevated reformer Hassan Rouhani to the presidency – and rule out any opening to America for a long time to come. It would also mean a huge victory for the War Party, and its powerful ally, the Israel lobby, in their longstanding efforts to pivot the US military from Iraq and Afghanistan to Iran, thus consolidating American hegemony in the very epicenter of the Middle East.

In short, the domestic political reverberations of such a failure would conspire
to create the conditions for a military conflict, one that would have grave
consequences not only for Iran but for the West as well. Economically, the results
would be a horrendous increase in the price of oil – a hike that would send
shockwaves through an already-fragile world economy and create little short
of havoc in the US and Western Europe. Politically, the failure of the Geneva
talks would empower the very forces in the US and Iran determined to halt any
moves toward rapprochement: in America, this means the neoconservative wing of the GOP, the pro-Israel "national security progressives" in the
Democratic Congress (of which there are all-too-many), and the constellation
of pro-Israel lobbying groups whose longstanding veto power over the conduct
of US foreign policy – which has only recently been successfully challenged – would be effectively restored.

What happens in the next six months is going to determine the trajectory of
American power for the next sixty years: will it be a course of imperial decline,
or one that takes a new road?

The odds are against any final agreement: one can make this calculation in
light of the history of US-Iranian relations since the 1979 Iranian hostage
crisis, during which there have been no formal diplomatic relations between
the two nations and the discourse followed a familiar pattern of denunciation,
denial, and disincentives to rational discussion. The habit of confrontation,
once established, is hard to break. In addition, there is the little matter
of a high-powered Washington lobby with huge influence inside the Beltway dedicated
to destroying any chances of a peaceful resolution of this ginned-up phony "crisis."

I say the alleged "crisis" is phony because our own intelligence
community has authored a National Intelligence Estimate which concludes "with
high confidence" that Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program in 2003,
and hasn’t resumed it. The War Party’s cries of panic are due to their substitution
of Israeli estimates of Iranian nuclear progress for the American version –
a vivid dramatization of just where their true loyalties lie. Do they trust
their own CIA? Of course not! But they’ll take the Israelis’ word for anything,
provided AIPAC and its affiliated political action committees keep sending those
checks.

The main obstacle to a peace agreement with Iran is the existence and power of a lobby in the US that owes its allegiance to a foreign government, one whose interests in this case are diametrically opposed to America’s. This lobby wields its power not only in Congress, but also in the media and indeed in every key opinion-making sector of America life, including academia. While there are laws regulating this kind of activity carried out on behalf of foreign governments, an exception has been made for partisans of Israel, who are not compelled to register as foreign agents and who therefore have no limits placed on their activities.

This is part of the price we pay for our Empire. In a normal country, no foreign lobbyist would be permitted to accumulate as much clout as the Israelis have been allowed to stockpile in Washington: but an empire isn’t a normal country, and certainly America, the bloated world-spanning hegemon, is very far from normality. Think of it this way: it’s only natural for parasitic creatures to attach themselves to larger animals, and hitch a ride, so to speak, marrying their lives and ambitions to the greater mobility and protective coloration of a more powerful being. A problem arises, however, when this symbiosis threatens the health and safety of the host – and that is precisely what has happened in the case of the US-Israeli "special relationship."

Like most of our problems in the foreign policy realm, this one is inherited from the cold war era, when Israel and the US were arrayed against the Soviet Union and its allies in the Arab world. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, however, and the end of the cold war, America’s relationship with Israel had to change – except it didn’t. The reason it didn’t was the pervasive power and influence of the Israel lobby, which kept the subsidies coming, and, if anything, drew the US closer to Tel Aviv’s suffocating embrace.

The stage is now set for a titanic political battle in the US between the Israel lobby and an American President – and if you want to know what’s wrong with our foreign policy, and has been wrong with it for the past 25 years or so, then contemplate the odds of the latter winning. Because they aren’t all that great.

As news of progress toward an agreement leaked out, the War Party rallied its troops in Congress and prepared the "Iran Nuclear Free Weapon Act of 2013," which Jim Lobe rightly calls the "Wag the Dog Act." Quite aside from torpedoing the Geneva negotiations by insisting on a "no enrichment" line, the Act calls for the US to hand over its decision-making to Tel Aviv in the event Netanyahu carries out his threat to attack Iran unilaterally:

"…[I]f the Government of Israel is compelled to take military action in legitimate self-defense against Iran’s nuclear weapon program, the United States Government should stand with Israel and provide, in accordance with the law of the United States and the constitutional responsibility of Congress to authorize the use of military force, diplomatic, military, and economic support to the Government of Israel in its defense of its territory, people, and existence."

Has it ever occurred in the history of the world that a nation has handed over
the most jealously guarded aspect of its sovereignty – its capacity to go to
war – to a foreign capital? Of the examples the informed student of history
could point to, all are doubtless cases of powerless protectorates, the client
states of dominant empires, which have in effect surrendered their sovereignty.
Yet here we are speaking of the United States of America, militarily the strongest
nation on earth – kowtowing before a tiny sliver of land that wouldn’t even
exist but for our generosity.

It would be funny if the consequences weren’t so tragic – and bloody.

Anyone who votes for the Schumer-Menendez bill is a traitor to this country in the same way, and for the same reasons, as is Jonathan Pollard: they are undermining US national security in order to serve what they imagine are Israel’s interests. In a rational world, they and their collaborators would be subject to legal sanctions. Remember those two FBI raids on AIPAC’s Washington headquarters? A third visit to the premises would no doubt do wonders to clear out the nest of saboteurs and foreign agents who have found shelter there, but unfortunately this administration has a history that makes this highly unlikely.

In their efforts to undermine the Geneva pact and spark a war with Iran, the War Party is going to pull out all the stops: I wouldn’t put anything past them, including engineering a Gulf of Tonkin-style "incident." And remember: the pro-Israel lobby consists not just of Netanyahu’s American amen corner but also the Israeli government, which has the means and the methods to abet or create just such an incident, whether on Iranian soil, in the Persian Gulf – or quite possibly in the US itself, along these lines.

The stakes have never been higher. In the context of the present brouhaha over the revelations of Edward Snowden, a conflict with Iran would buttress the failing rationale for the Surveillance State – after all, we’re at war and we’ve got to keep a close watch on those Iranians. As Randolph Bourne – the namesake of our sponsoring organization – put it: "War is the health of the State." And you can bet your bottom dollar the Surveillance State will remain entrenched and grow in scope if the War Party succeeds in sabotaging Geneva, and getting the US to sign on to Israel’s holy war against Iran.

For libertarians, and for all those fighting to save our old republic from
the depredations of Power gone wild, there is no more important task in the
months ahead than supporting the negotiations and stymieing the War Party’s
efforts to derail them. What is needed is a repeat of the Great American Grassroots
Uprising that took place when the President announced we were going to bomb
Syria: the congressional switchboard lit up and the sounds of outraged constituents
demanding a "No" vote were heard from coast to coast.

In the meantime, stay tuned to this space and Antiwar.com to keep up with the
latest from Geneva – and the floor of the US Congress. The President has vowed
to veto the Schumer-Menendez bill if it passes – but the number of endorsers
is nearing the veto-proof mark of 67 votes, with only two Republican holdouts – Sen. Jeff Flake, Republican of Arizona, and Sen. Rand Paul, who nevertheless shows signs of wavering. Libertarian supporters
of Sen. Paul’s emerging presidential campaign might want to remind him that
their support is conditional on his efforts to keep us out of war (his Washington
office would love to hear from you: 202-224-4343). Flake is a member of the quasi-libertarian Republican Liberty Caucus, and he may need a reminder as well (Here’s the number to call: 202-224-4521). And your own representatives no doubt would like to hear from you, too, so please don’t disappoint them.

NOTES IN THE MARGIN

You can check out my Twitter feed by going here.
But please note that my tweets are sometimes deliberately provocative, often
made in jest, and largely consist of me thinking out loud.

It's that time again when the patriots in high places have got to have a word with these #$%@#$g traitors in the Senate. It'll be up to them I'm afraid. Not sure if Obama is going to go the people again and publicly denounce the Senate. He should of course. Because that gets live coverage and hours of talk afterward and then the American people wake up momentarily from their slumber. But boy, the US arm if the israeli propaganda ministry (the US mainstream media) is surely working non-stop for israel on this one.

The clock is ticking for the war hawks, they have to push for this in light of the P5 agreement (whose compliance with is already proving that Iran can be negotiated with). More importantly, by the end of the year and certainly early next, the US election cycle will be taken up by campaigns, that may result in more non-interventionists getting elected.

Just as the momentum for war with Iran seemed to disintegrate in mid 2007 and 2011 once Ron Paul had an influence, there may be a pro-peace effect created by Rand Paul in the presidential primaries in 2015-16. The war hawks don't want to start something that gives Paul the edge as the peace candidate at that point—so they have to push for a strike on Iran now, or else wait until 2017.

obama should say he's for war with iran just so the idiot ideologues of the republicans will then be against it. that's how it works in washington now yes? you only protest the crimes of the opposition.

and a false flag is more than overdue and this is exactly what they will use to attain their nefarious ends. hey they got away with 911 so why wouldn't they go even bigger this time? despite numerous false flags throughout history people are stupid and gullible enough to fall for another one. the imbeciles never learn. my favorite retort is 'i find it hard to believe our gov't would murder their own people' as if one's individual morality comes into play for these demonic elites. that's the first error right there…to ascribe to them some type of morality at all. these are sociopaths and psychopaths. they have no remorse or compunction for any act they perpetrate no matter how heinous. things are getting dark and will only get darker until the population physically rises up to stop them.

I do not trust Rand Paul. He claims he is undecided on new sanctions against Iran. He has spoken in favor of sanctions in the past, and talks very sympathetically of interventionism. I don't care if that's just politics…he can't be trusted.

I think it is necessary to understand, that the state of Israel – an imperialist creation – seems to be grounded on having dangerous enemies all the time. So they constantly want new problems and wars, prererably fought out and paid for by others.

And it seems to me, that the US has through its history more or less CREATED enemies, that could be used as internal social consolidiation tools. So it is literally a political madhouse, we are living in, with two lunatics feeding each other, regardless of the cerrtain end at some point in the future.will be worse for everybody.. Lunacy of pragmatics played out large.

The Amerikan sheeple never seem to learn from history–of course what passes for "history" in government schools today is a matter unto itself. Until they have their bread and circuses, TV, pro sports, celebrity worship, electronic gadget of the week, etc. taken away from them, 75% unemployment, the entire country turned into a gigantic version of Gaza and learn who their true enemies are, they are not going to rise up and stop them, I'm afraid.http://incogman.net/category/history/

An accurate article mostly, but ignores another party with an identical agenda—Saudi Arabia, who will be the main beneficiaries of ballooning oil prices, and let's not forget the Armagaeddonist Christians who think Bibi's nukes will re-unite them with the Lord himself.

War with Iran has a supporting Fifth Column in the pulpit – the Christian Zionists who believe and preach that Christ will return only after the Israelis take over all of Palestine. But I also believe that we antiwar people have a silent ally in the military. I believe that many of them have soldiered through the wars on Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya only to see the destruction wrought on the World and the USA by this poisonous heresy.

American neocons and AIPAC (and Saudi Arabia) may think a strike against Iran would happen in a three-state vacuum,, but will other countries stand by and allow a broken empire, a tiny sliver of land, and a country who has a Russian target on its back (the Saudi-sponsored terrorism inside Russia is not something Russia is going to ignore) to determine the fate of the world? Such a move would ruin the dollar, the Euro, and greatly disrupt the Chinese and Russian economy. The price is too steep. These crazy (and I do mean crazy) neocons and neoliberals will meet their match if they go after Iran. Of course, these people are not capable of thinking more than two seconds ahead, so perhaps they'll attempt to start another war. I just think measures will be taken by other countries before they can pull it off. Wishful thinking on my part maybe.

Yes, it's high time for President Obama to publicly address this issue to the American people and take on the Senate. A prime time address is needed if Obama sincerely wants to succeed. He needs to name names – especially those traitors like Menendez/Schumer in his own party. If he does not do so before then, then this must be addressed in his upcoming State of the Union speech. The remainder of his presidency rests upon him winning.

Yes, if Rand Paul were truly against war, his decision should have been easy. By his sticking his finger in the wind on this, he looks like any other phony politician. If he votes for the Kirk-Menendez bill, he is finished in the anti-war community. Too bad it's Rand Paul in the Senate instead of Ron!

i certainly don't disagree. my overall point was that there is no "political" solution to the quandary we are in. these monsters only recognize brute force and until they are subject to this, they will continue with their unspeakable crimes

General Dempsey was openly against a Syrian strike before Obama announced one. After Obama did so, he was conspicuously silent while Kerry rambled on like a madman. I, too, think that many (most?) of the top military brass (including Hagel) are against an Iranian War, which will be much more devastating than all the prior US Mideast aggressions. Do those Senators against negotiations really think that Russia and China will again sit on their hands if the US starts another war?

One useful way to defeat the Israel Lobby would be for American authors, not least Mr Raimondo himself, to cease to attack the European Union. The EU's "problem" is that it sits astride the most direct route from Israel to its American bully and its increasing power, including the power to say "no" to the US or its Israeli master, worries the essentially paranoid Lobby. Thus, the EU has to be crushed under America's jackboot so that the Palestinians can be crushed under Israel's. There is therefore no logic to urging people to "defeat" the Lobby while continuing to do its dirty work by attacking the EU.

Our Senators and Representatives minds are "their personal fortunes"- mainly increasing them. The Christian Zionists' minds are back in the Bronze Age, wanting to help Jehovah in his promise to "make footstools" out of Israel's ancient enemies including Babylon (Iraq), Assyria, and Persia (Iran). They, seriously believe that. Hopefully, some citizens, especially in command, are worrying about America.

[…] The announcement by the White House that a preliminary agreement with Iran has been reached on limiting their nuclear program – stopping enrichment of uranium beyond 3 percent, dismantling enrichment facilities, and increasing the pace and intrusiveness of IAEA inspections – sets the stage for a six-month-long drama, the end of which is impossible to predict. What we can say with certainty, however, is that failure is not an option – because, in that case, war would be almost inevitable. The collapse of the negotiations would give Iranian hardliners a new lease on life – after their humiliating defeat in the recent presidential elections, which elevated reformer Hassan Rouhani to the presidency – and rule out any opening to America for a long time to come. It would also mean a huge victory for the War Party, and its powerful ally, the Israel lobby, in their longstanding efforts to pivot the US military from Iraq and Afghanistan to Iran, thus consolidating American hegemony in the very epicenter of the Middle East. http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2014/01/12/defeat-the-israel-lobby/#.UtP35JSqiQI.email […]

In a nation where even noting that "This lobby wields its power not only in Congress, but also in the media and indeed in every key opinion-making sector of America(n) life, including academia." is likely to see the author accused of "classic anti-Semitic hate speech" or of being a "self hating Jew" it took more than a little courage to write and publish this article. Thank you, Mr. Raimondo.

Defeating the lobby on this issue, now, will be but a temporary setback for the war party forces that want to set the middle east ablaze. Those forces include US war industries, international banks, corporations that supply mercenaries and logistical support, corporations that hope to be in on rebuilding after the destruction, oil corporations, various think tanks, and many of the spooks, spies and senior members of the national security apparatus, among others. War provides huge profits, promotional opportunities, and secure, well paid careers to a veritable army of US citizens who happily support the efforts of AIPAC, Saudi Arabia, and Christian Zionists. It would be naive to think these forces won't do everything imaginable – and a few things unimaginable – to provoke new wars in the middle east and elsewhere.

Yes, we need to stop the "Wag the Dog" act, if possible, but a win on that round only assures more battles ahead until the whole rotten structure of the war party can be torn apart. In the words of that great imperialist WInston Churchill it would be "Not the end, not even the beginning of the end, but … perhaps, the end of the beginning."

You can easily see the maneuvering when a fake attack by Chechens is used to set the stage for some real attack in Russia (Iran's ally) to be blamed on Chechens. Russia must be "otherwise engaged" when it is time to attack Iran, you see.

US is not ready to wage a war against iran. i'v said that many times over the last 7-8 years.
US might ONLY bomb iran today, tomorrow, or in a decade or two.
but that's not waging a war; it is more like waging a terrorist act.
but even just bombings, no matter how light, would cause increase of oil prices by who knows how much.
many oiless countries would be badly hurt by new prices.
china, eg, could and most likely would consider bombing iran a casus belli.
in addition to that, there might be a coup against iranian theocracy and iran going for nukes.
i expect that iranian hardliners realize that if iran doesn't obtain nukes US or US/Israel would not ever stop harassing iranians.
once US manufactures an enemy it never let's it be in peace!

American working man and women should know that if they want to defeat the Israeli lobby they need to eliminate senators from the list of senators whom are working for Israel, have their investments in war machineries or get paid by it to run as Israeli senators while lying to Americans working people that they are by the people and for the American people.

I know that makes sense, that Russia may still back Iran even if blindsided. Or it may realize that to stop being attacked, it will have to lay low. That is not the same as shutting down the economy.
All of our recent attacks by terrorists have been orchestrated and phony. Nor did we shut down our economy, except to ground airplanes briefly and to experiment with martial law in Boston. The malefactors profited from the rearrangements but never shut down the economy.

Of course O-Bomb-a, the Peace Laureate-in-Chief, should denounce the AIPAC-bought-and-paid-
for hacks in Knesset West. (By the way, I haven't got much confidence in my senators, Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken of Minnesota. Essentially, they're both go-along-to-get along hacks.)

America's troubles in the Middle East began in 1948 when President Harry Truman–the failed haberdasher, the former "Senator from Pendergast"–recognized Israel in return for campaign
contributions from pro-Zionist sources.

One of my Senators, a Republican, is leaning away from voting for sanctions, while the other, forgetting who took him to the dance is in favor of sanctions. But, we all know that our foreign policy is conceived in Tel Aviv and enforced by AIPAC, and that neither party can be relied on to put American interest first. The good news is that the rest of the world will trade with Iran leaving American businesses out of a potentially lucrative Iranian market.

"Has it ever occurred in the history of the world that a nation has handed over the most jealously guarded aspect of its sovereignty – its capacity to go to war – to a foreign capital?"

Yes, twice, when the Germans gave Vienna the infamous "blank check" that ignited WWI, and when
Britain and France issued its equally infamous guarantee to Warsaw in 1939 that enveloped the West in Word War II.

What better argument against foolishly repeating this catastrophic mistake with Tel Aviv/

The zionist hawks and propagandists never cease to amaze me. Now their BS argument is that the sanctions have actually brought Iran to the negotiating table. They are supporting the sanctions and saying more sanctions will put the squeeze to 'em and make them cooperate.

BS. The TRUTH is that the negotiations are happening because the US government and the western governments around the world have decided that war with Iran is NOT an option! It's not an option. The Military brass is against it, the only people that are for it are just a few corrupt politicians in the west. And obviously you have these zionist war hawks that are trying to throw a monkey wrench into these negotiations. You never hear this argument on any TV outlet. Fox news is repeating the lies and war propaganda. So is the NY times, the washington post, MSNBC, CNN, etc. etc. CBS, NBC. No where on TV are they telling the truth.

Rand Paul is a dirty rat. The way he plays kissy face with Sean Hannity and his endorsement of Mitt Romney for president is enough to make any peacenik puke. If Rand Paul was honestly a man of peace, and not a creature of politics, this would be the easiest vote in world. There is a limit to how much this man should be allowed to get away with just because his last name is Paul. Paul's wavering on the War with Iran Act should discredit him forever among peace advocates.

Rand Paul is laying in the weeds. In no way do I think he supports this. However the NSA has files on every politician in the country. Everyone has secrets. I bet they also have files on most commenters here. I wonder how thick Justin's file is?

[…] Defeat the Israel Lobby As news of progress toward an agreement leaked out, the War Party rallied its troops in Congress and prepared the "Iran Nuclear Free Weapon Act of 2013," which Jim Lobe rightly calls the "Wag the Dog Act." Quite aside from torpedoing the Geneva … Read more on Antiwar.com […]

Ayn Rand Paul should be voted out of office along with Chuckwagon Tumor and many other senators and members of congress. This is Ehud Barack Obama's last term. Our next president will probably be Mrs. Hillbilly Clinton.

Are you saying that Rand is so afraid of the NSA that he will not go public on this? If that is the case then this country is truly over. It's obvious that Justin is not afraid of the NSA nor do I think that Rand is, although I do not understand his reluctance to speak out.

If these fools in Congress override Obama on this and declare war, it would be great if the military refused to fight. I would prefer to see a military coup by real America-first patriots than the Israel-first government we have now.

I think he is playing his cards close to his vest. It's called politics. I really don't think this measure has many real supporters. I think it will be killed off behind the scenes. As for the NSA, I think it may have a huge file on every real opposition figure. I don't know if they have anything on Rand or not. But it is always a possibility in the politics we have today. The Israeli Lobby rules by bribery, blackmail and intimidation. It is throwing everything but the kitchen sink at this bill. Will someone get up and say enough, it has to stop? I sure hope so.

Obama will never get up and publicly denounce the Israeli Lobby. He has been in their pocket his whole political career. He represents a more sane group of the Lobby who wants this settled. They know Iran is not a threat to anyone, even Israel. The radicals have made the whole world more and more anti-Semitic. Sane people know that peace is the best solution. I am no supporter of Obama, but wish him well if he can pull this off. I doubt he will be able to.

Kind of a reverse situation of the plot of the movie 'Seven Days In May'. I would be in favor of such a thing, as long as the military hands back power to a new civilian government loyal to the American people, after they have purged it of all pro-zionist elements, executed or deported all traitors, dual citizens, etc. back to Israel or wherever, and secured the borders from the third-world invasion. We certainly don't need a military dictatorship any more than we need the existing dictatorship.

sorry folks for verrri bad news: there is only [my estimate] 20 to 30mn americans in the top class.
we wish there be 330mn there. all american want to be in that number, but in spite of wishing, honestly working, or praying [they still pray in amerika, but only because they don't know prayers never worked] they just can't get there in this life time.
can one imagine prayers working [even in a fantasy basement] we would still put up with religions and imams, clergy, rabbis, lamas???
well, with people you never know!

This is the reel fight of our lives…. The fight with the 5ff column, because it has gotten inside the body politic…. and reprogrammed our political DNA to nourish their cells and starve the beast they infect…….. N-SA has ben haaked to deliver US and out thoughts to this entity…. NSA is but one tennacle…. of this monster…. They work 4them, nt-us.. They werk to keep their crimes against us, America and the world covered-oop The body of this monster also has many organs like oil and banking, all cheering the little engine that could: Engine number nine eleven…zero one…. I myself have long ago despaired, and only tryin to hang on till the inevitable collapse of their fiat paper G-d..

The problem is not dual citizenship. The problem is political power. Where it exists, it is for sale. Dual citizenship just provides major evidence that there is a problem, especially in the case of, e.g. Fed vice chair nominee Stanley Fischer. That's insane.

When Rand backed Romney I immediately lost all interest in that traitor. And then he favored economic sanctions on a nation that hasn't invaded anyone in centuries! I can't believe all of the excuses some people make for this guy.

This article is so filled with delusion and hatred, that it besmirches and stains a lot of the otherwise good work on this site.

There may be an Israel lobby. It may in fact be controlled by American Imperial interests using Israel as a tool to control the Middle East for oil purposes and general domination. It also serves to get the Christians on board with the Imperials. There is in fact a much larger Arab-oil lobby that has Israel outclassed and would have Israel cast aside if it felt it important to American Imperial domination. This is why the US government repeatedly attacks and opposes Israels right to self-govern and self-administer. This is why the US government tacitly supported regimes hostile to Israel for decades, and even now currently supports regime instability in Syria and elsewhere, something Israel does not like. The American Empire clearly supports the Sunnis in Syria. Israel has been accused of supporting both sides by the opposite side, but all it has done is urge peace and open the borders to hundreds of victims seeking medical attention. What an evil regime, that Israel.

Whatever you think should be done to spies, it is a very clear fact that Pollard has been kept illegally beyond his term and his term was disproportionate to the terms of worse spies. Not to mention that allied spying has been common for centuries and the US no doubt does it to Israel regularly, along with others. Wasnt there an Australian passport ring broken up a few years ago? If you have such a hatred of Pollard, there can be only one explanation: you hate Jews.

Finally, the idea that Israel would collapse without American support is just plain ignorant. Israel went nearly three decades without US support, and was originally feared to be a Soviet satellite (and was for a few years). If the US cut $3-4 billion in aid it gives annually, Israel would certainly be hurt a bit at first, but it would make economic adjustments and probably be forced to embrace capitalism a bit more, cutting welfare, and liberalizing regulations. This also ignores the probability that China, and perhaps Russia, would step right up with an equal or larger check. Remember how you Jew haters consider Jews sell outs? Well, whether true or not, all humans sell, especially when they need to. Israel has a lot of knowledge, domestic and American that China would love to buy.

Justin Raimondo is actually a great piece of proof showing what an antisemite is vs isnt. He and Ron Paul agree on a lot of foreign policy, if not almost completely. But only one mentions Israel, the Jewish state, in every other sentence. That, for me, is the clear test of antisemitism. If you can talk for awhile without mentioning Jews or Israel, you arent an antisemite. If you cant do that, and portray either or both in a negative light, you simply hate Jews.

Juvanya,
You do have a nice, calm way of making your case honoring Israel and its ways; unfortunately your case is rubbish. First off, be very calm and sincere and explain to me how honorable it is to steal other peoples' land, like the "settlement" program is doing. Kindly explain the practices of throwing rocks at Palestinian schoolchildren, cutting down the ancient olive trees of the Palestinians, poisoning their livestock, or dumping your raw sewage on their land, as the "settlers" do. Kindly explain the racist rants of such nice people as Avigdor Lieberman or Bibi Netanyahu.
You want everyone to "forget and forgive", Mr Pollard, but your group will hound nonagenarians who might have been concentration camp guards impressed into service 70 years ago. Isn't that inconsistent?
You think that Israel will thrive without US financial aid, direct US military aid (as in 1973), dual citizenry benefits, or fawning diplomatic service – great. You have convinced me on that point – let's get started down that road. I am with you 100%.

Justin Raimondo is the editorial director of Antiwar.com, and a senior fellow at the Randolph Bourne Institute. He is a contributing editor at The American Conservative, and writes a monthly column for Chronicles. He is the author of Reclaiming the American Right: The Lost Legacy of the Conservative Movement [Center for Libertarian Studies, 1993; Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2000], and An Enemy of the State: The Life of Murray N. Rothbard [Prometheus Books, 2000].